You can read the full article here, but we'll highlight some parts below:
“Through continued work with our new financial advisor and financial modeling consultant, we are happy to report that in the ‘base case,’ the (light-rail project) debt can be restructured to allow for construction without the need for new local funds,” project manager Danny Rogers said in an email. “The ‘base case’ is a scenario in which the financial growth assumptions and cost estimates are as expected.”
- "without the need for new local funds"
"GoTriangle’s plan also includes an optional $65 million local cost for development projects around the stations. Chapel Hill, Orange County, Durham and Durham County all have “expressed interest in pledging local dollars” for joint development projects, such as affordable housing, the financial plan states."
- "optional $65 million"
"The plan also includes an optional $236 million in financing that could help manage the project’s cash flow until state and federal money kick in."
- "optional $236 million"
"Still some questions
The updated plan reverses an earlier request that Durham County help find an extra $135 million over 10 years and Orange County help find another $40 million. The money was expected at the time to cover a $250 million shortfall created when the state cut its expected share of project costs from 25 percent.
The request caused concern in both counties about the increasing burden on taxpayers and lack of communication from GoTriangle. The state funding gap was apparent last spring, some noted, but GoTriangle only approached the counties within weeks of its Dec. 31 deadline for federal submission."
- "lack of communication"
- "increasing burden on taxpayers"
"While he is not well-versed in the latest plan, Walden noted that financing a long-term project has the benefit of spreading the cost among current and future users."
- "not well-versed"
“It’s comforting that we weren’t being asked for money at the moment, but we still have a way to go to improve communication with the public and with the elected boards. We still have a way to go to make things clear and timely, and we still have a way to go to understand what we’re getting into,” he said."
- "we still have a way to go to understand what we're getting into"
- "have a way to go to improve communication with the public"
- "We still have a way to go to make things clear and timely"
"While Durham Mayor Bill Bell and Wendy Jacobs agreed the revised plan is good news, Bell hedged his words.
“I want to make it clear, and I hope they made it clear, it doesn’t mean that we still are not going to be looking for other alternatives of funding through the local governments, because if you read the report, there are a lot of things that could cause those numbers to go down because of assumptions, in which case we still may need additional funding,” Bell said."
- "it doesn't mean that we still are not going to be looking for other alternatives of funding through the local governments"
- "if you read the report, there are a lot of things that could cause those numbers to go down because of assumptions, in which case we still may need additional funding"
Get used to this narrative from the WakeUp GoTriangle. You'll see it repeated often.
